FanDuel MLB Picks – August 23rd

We had some fun with our FanDuel daily fantasy baseball picks on Tuesday, as J.D. Martinez and Khris Davis both went yard and we got solid contributions out of Alex Avila, Joey Votto and Yoenis Cespedes. Marwin Gonzalez and Ian Happ were our only hitting gaffes, while Jon Gray was plenty fine (36 fantasy points).

It wasn’t a perfect team, but two homers is always cause for celebration and our pitcher didn’t crater us. If you pivoted off of Happ and Marwin, you could have won big.

We’re back for the grind on Wednesday, where we get a big 13-game main slate to tackle. Here’s some of our favorite picks to consider tonight at FanDuel:

SP: Luke Weaver – St. Louis Cardinals ($7.8k)

Corey Kluber is the top pitcher on the board and my favorite play is probably Luis Severino, but those guys are expensive and with matchups against the Red Sox and Tigers, respectively, neither are in safe spots. We can also consider Rich Hill, Zack Godley and a few others, but I’ll be looking to save cash in GPPs tonight.

Severino is my cash play and a guy I’ll use in tourneys, but I don’t mind rolling the dice with Weaver. The youngster has flashed nice strikeout upside in his short time in the majors and he’ll be at home in a conservative park against the Padres. San Diego sports some pop, but they whiff a lot and this is a solid environment for pitching. Weaver and his Cards are strong -180 favorites at Bovada tonight, too, so it’s a solid bet that he gets the win here.

I’m not expecting 50 out of Weaver, but if he can get us what Jon Gray did last night (34+), that’s a win and then we can stack some tantalizing bats.

C: Alex Avila – Chicago Cubs ($2.8k)

We used Avila last night and he responded well with a 21-point fantasy outing. He’s against facing a shaky righty in a great park and his splits tell the story (.234 ISO, .381 wOBA versus right-handed pitchers). The guy he’s facing – Asher Wojciechowski – has splits we should attack, too, as the young hurler has given up a nasty .295 ISO and 50% fly ball rate to lefty hitters. Yeah, I like Avila tonight.

1B: Justin Smoak – Toronto Blue Jays ($3.4k)

Smoak has cooled down a bit lately but he’s still a masher that is enjoying a career year in 2017. He’s in a decent spot tonight against Austin Pruitt and the splits we get (.277 ISO, .371 wOBA) certainly won’t turn us away. There are more expensive options we’d love to have, but with 33 long balls on the year, it’s not like we’re sacrificing any power or upside.

2B: Ian Happ – Chicago Cubs ($3.2k)

Happ paid off last night without going yard (12.7 fantasy points) but I think if he’s in the lineup he can be even better tonight. He gets the same mouth-watering matchup Avila does and we have to like the Cubs in general tonight. Happ offers value and upside tonight, plus we shouldn’t overlook his nasty splits (.273 ISO) against righties.

3B: Jake Lamb – Arizona Diamondbacks ($3.7k)

Lamb sat out last night as the D’Backs took on a southpaw, but he’ll be back tonight to face young righty, Chris Flexen. Things have not gone as planned for Flexen and he should be easy to get to early. Lamb still offers a discounted at an inflated position, yet in this matchup he offers us as much upside as anyone at 3B. His gaudy splits against right-handed pitching (.285 ISO, .405 wOBA) make him one of the top plays on the board.

I’m also into Mike Moustakas, as he is at home with great splits, as well. I think both guys could wreck tonight, though, so why not save the $300 and use Lamb?

SS: Corey Seager – Los Angeles Dodgers ($3.7k)

If Marwin Gonzalez dongs tonight, I’m going to lose it. He was a great play last night and ended up striking out three times. Yeah. Anyways, I’m just going to pay up at SS tonight, where we get a somewhat discounted Corey Seager in a nice matchup with the beatable Trevor Williams.

PNC Park isn’t an ideal place to locate power, but Seager is just always a good try due to his power and efficiency. He’s in the midst of a career stretch at the moment, too, as he has a hit in 11 consecutive games.

OF: Christian Yelich – Miami Marlins ($3.2k)

Yelich is flat out wrecking at the moment, as he’s stacked up 7 hits over his last three games. That’s led to 20+ fantasy points in each of those contests and I don’t see why the ball can’t stay rolling tonight. Yelich is a nice price, he sees a huge park upgrade at Citizens Bank Park and he’s facing a weak arm in Mark Leiter Jr. You can take shots at more power elsewhere, but Yelich could easily dong in this spot and may be one of the safer picks on the board tonight.

OF: Andrew McCutchen – Pittsburgh Pirates ($3.4k)

Again, as I said in Seager’s blurb, PNC Park isn’t the best stadium to target hitters, but I can’t fade Cutch when he faces a left-handed pitcher. Rich Hill is a good one, but McCutchen’s nasty splits (.489 ISO, .523 wOBA) are too good to pass up.

OF: Aaron Judge – New York Yankees ($3.8k)

Judge is striking out more than he was earlier in the year, but he still carries way too much upside to pass up on this price. It can’t hurt that he’s in a solid park against a guy in Jordan Zimmerman that gives up loads of hard contact, either. I expect a homer out of Judge tonight.

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